Tool Review Time

[Noobz347]

They make spot weld cutters for a reason.

Oh yeah? Well, how smart was [that] guy?

Him: I need something to cut these spot welds. I will invent a tool to do so. I know! I will call it a "Spot Weld Cutter"!

Me: What a dunts. He coulda called them, "Super Weld Ball Face Puncher"!

Sounds way better

 

[General karthief]

Or you could call those drill bits 'not spot weld cutters'. or would that be too obvious?

 

[Noobz347]

'not spot weld cutters'

"NotKutNit" Found at stores carrying Krapey Tools at a location near you.

 

[Adieu]

Let's skip all these middle men and their crappy image sensors stacked on-top of moderately built fiber cable and just make something new that makes sense:

A phone camera case with a fiber cable and light. It should fit directly over your camera lens and let you pinch, zoom, and use whatever other features your phone cam is capable of. The same fiber optic cable can make use of the light emitter on the phone to carry light to the top of the probe.

Exactly same idea as this cable: https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...-in-x-55mm-inspection-camera-cable-64125.html

I can guarantee that any phone on the market today will have a better image sensor than every consumer level fiber cam on the market today.

I have one that is similar to this one: https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...scanning/digital-inspection-camera-61839.html

My complaints are that the fore mentioned image sensor is junk. The other is that the probe end is too large in diameter for many things that I would need a fiber optic probe for. I guess it's just a little bit smaller than the face of a nickel but larger than a penny. Something to look at when buying one of these.

@FastDriver - It shouldn't be hard to find what you're looking for if you're willing to spend a little. Even Snap-On has much newer units with more features than the one you showed.

Just a brief search: Amazon product ASIN B07KF2LNN8View: https://www.amazon.com/Industrial-ROTEK-Professional-Waterproof-Inspection/dp/B07KF2LNN8/ref=sxin_2_ac_d_pm?ac_md=4-2-QWJvdmUgJDUw-ac_d_pm&keywords=endoscope&pd_rd_i=B07KF2LNN8&pd_rd_r=0445b5f5-06c7-4ea3-877c-2972ebbea427&pd_rd_w=g4kWu&pd_rd_wg=Gk62U&pf_rd_p=eeff02d5-070a-45ea-a79e-d591974b877e&pf_rd_r=T2TX07CT3PC3PHQH5XCF&psc=1&qid=1568032815&s=gateway


I might get that one. lol

So... while that little $5 scope that plugged into my phone had previously been adequate to my needs, at BMW, it isn't. (Surprise, surprise...)

So I ordered that Rotek you suggested on Amazon. It arrived yesterday, meaning I won't get a chance to use it in the shop for awhile (for those not following my build thread, I have COVID), but from just playing around with it at the house, it's a damned nice tool, and it rivals the $800 units Snap-On is selling in image quality and features.

Anyone got a dial-indicator recommendation?

I need to be able to bolt to my block to check piston quench.

SAE/Metric Digital Indicator

Amazing deals on this Sae/Metric Digital Indicator at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

I use that one mounted in whatever jig I need to for the job (mostly this odd aluminum contraption for checking BMW brake runout).

 

[Ronin38]

Dang, sorry to hear you got the C-19. Best Wishes to you. Maybe you can enjoy some peace and quiet since people are not allowed to be around you for a while? (Silver lining and all that.) I'm assuming you're not in the ICU, since you're posting and getting packages.

 

[Adieu]

Dang, sorry to hear you got the C-19. Best Wishes to you. Maybe you can enjoy some peace and quiet since people are not allowed to be around you for a while? (Silver lining and all that.) I'm assuming you're not in the ICU, since you're posting and getting packages.

Yeah, so far it's just been a fever, horrible headache, congestion, dizziness, and a cough, and not all of it at the same time, and sudafed and aleve have handled the symptoms to this point.

Hell, having a q-tip shoved up my nose twice for the test was one of the worst parts of it, but it was over with quickly.

 

[Ronin38]

Also take Zycam (zinc supplement) and elderberry tablets. Both are natural anti-viral agents with no side effects.

 

[Noobz347]

@74stang2togo You'll have to let me know how you like that Rotek.

 

[Adieu]

Three weeks ago at work, a Cornwell driver showed up.

In all of my years turning wrenches, I'd only worked at one one other shop that had a Cornwell truck stopping by, and that was over a decade ago.

I went out to the truck, expecting the same thing I'd find on any other tool truck, and for the most part I was right, but not completely.

Cornwell's prices are in general, at least with this particular Cornwell driver, significantly cheaper than Snap-On or Matco, and they've got some innovative stuff on the truck.

My first purchase was this guy:

Cornwell Quality Tools Online Catalog

corporate.cornwelltools.com

It's a damned good bit-ratchet. I like the grip on it better than the one on the Toolworks bit ratchet I reviewed earlier, and the flex-head design makes it even more useful. It didn't replace the Toolworks ratchet and send it to my home toolbox, it got it's own spot carved out of the foam in my ratchet drawer. The Toolworks ratchet still has a much lower profile head, and is smaller overall, meaning these two both have their uses.

The best part to me was the fact that it was only $30 when SnapOn and Matco are both asking $90 or more for every ratchet on the truck at this point. A fantastic tool with an equally fantastic price is a winner in my book!

 

[Ronin38]

Noice!

 

[Adieu]

Cornwell Quality Tools Online Catalog

corporate.cornwelltools.com

I've been looking at different underhood lights for awhile, because trying to find something magnetic to stick work lights to these days under the hood of a modern car is an excercise in futility with all of the plastic, aluminum, composites, magnesium, and any other damned thing but steel they're building them out of. That light usually retails for $239 (as you can see on the website) but there just wasn't any way I was paying that for one. Harbor Freight has an "okay" one for $40, and there's a handful from brands I like on Amazon around the $100 mark.

Well, I didn't have to, because if I bought these wrenches with it in a bundle, I got both for $208:

Cornwell Quality Tools Online Catalog

corporate.cornwelltools.com

$410 worth of tools for $208 is nothing to sneeze at. I checked Amazon, and cheapest similar wrenches from good brands were in the $70-80 range, so a $30 premium to buy from a local business and not have to wait on it isn't bad, and having a nice set of offset wrenches means I can quit fighting with these clunky things: https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/wrenches/8-piece-metric-offset-box-wrench-set-32042.html when doing brake flushes on BMWs.

For the whopping two days I was at the shop after I got sick, I used the heck out of that light, it's fantastic, lighting up a whole BMW 7-series engine bay at once. It also folds up small enough that I can tuck it behind the printer on my workbench when I'm not using it and plug it in to charge.

 

[HemiRick]

OK just had a 2nd chance to use these "Hypertough" drill bits and they suck. Needed to drill out the alum ignition lock on my new 91 GT I just got, the 1/2" bit died before the lock was drilled had to goto the next smaller size to get cutting again.

 

[Adieu]

@74stang2togo You'll have to let me know how you like that Rotek.

Amazon product ASIN B07KF2LNN8View: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KF2LNN8/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=stangnet-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=&creativeASIN=B07KF2LNN8


That little guy, in a word, is awesome.

I don't know for sure if it'd be up to your standards Noobz, as you tend to be picky about tech, but it's way more than adequate for what I need it for.

I've now seen the inside of my 4Runner's fuel tank, and I've never turned a bolt on the fuel tank skid plate or mounting straps (I was verifying that the smoke machine for EVAP diag was actually pushing smoke all the way from the charcoal canister hose to the tank). While the picture can get grainy when close up (like when it gets close to the walls of the fuel filler neck) when you can navigate it effectively (which is surprisingly easier than most scopes like this I've used, owing to the stiffer cable) you get a nice, clear, decently-sized picture of what you're looking at. In actual use it's better than Snap-On's $800 scope because it's got a camera that's slightly better, and far more cable to work with.

For the price that scope is VERY nice.

 

[Adieu]

A prime example of why I'm not brand loyal. Mac wants $98 more than Cornwell for what is literally the same tool. Okay, so they're throwing in a set of pliers, but big deal, I got a set like that for $30 from Sears ten years ago that still works.

Always shop around.

 

[Adieu]

Amazon product ASIN B08L9YK565View: https://www.amazon.com/Automotive-Ultrasonic-Injector-Cleaning-Motorcycle/dp/B08L9YK565/ref=asc_df_B08L9YK565/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=475855943230&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9608311588168782767&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1026831&hvtargid=pla-1016913461442&psc=1


This is one neat gadget.

A co-worker of mine has a group of friends that all wrench on stuff in his garage when they're not wrenching for their respective dealerships, and to make sure that they have access to some of the more more specialized equipment out there, they'll chip-in to buy something they won't each need very often, but will all need from time-to-time.

This is one of those things. This machine can flush, back-flush, leak test, and flow test fuel injectors in ten different modes, and even has an ultrasonic cleaner in the back. It uses an electric pump to generate the necessary pressure, so no air supply is necessary. Today I flow-tested the injectors I bought from Mike for ElSuperPinto's turbo 4.6 4v swap, and was very pleased with the results I got, not to mention impressed with just how well made and how easy to use this cheap little machine really is. I was able to run all 8 injectors, in two batches of four, through multiple tests in all of five minutes or so, to figure out which injector I was putting on which cylinder.

My biggest complaints about it would be that removing the injectors after testing is a messy affair due to no drain valve or pressure relief on the rail, combined with the fact that Autool has so many versions of it lumped under one model number that it can be confusing as to what you're getting if you choose to order one.

I don't think I need one, but it was damned neat to use, and knowing I've got four injectors that flow 44ml in 10 seconds, two that flow 46, and two that flow 48 (honestly for mass-produced parts being tested in a relatively cheap Chinese tester, that's pretty good consistency) is just a little something I can tuck away for future use should I need it (I marked each injector with the results).

 

[Adieu]

Amazon product ASIN B077FFK3XBView: https://www.amazon.com/Car-Guy-Tools-Socket-Drive/dp/B077FFK3XB/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3OURVC7RY46F&dchild=1&keywords=10mm%2Bsocket%2Bbulk%2Bpack&qid=1607090423&sprefix=10mm%2Bsocket%2Bbulk%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-2&th=1


These are quite possibly the greatest gift idea ever.

For Christmas each year, I give every technician I work with a 10mm socket. Car Guy Tools' bulk packs make doing so affordable, even when you have 20+ co-workers in a Carmax production shop.

On top of that, they're decently-made sockets, holding up to professional use until they're lost.

 

[Noobz347]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Zz4JLC0zM&ab_channel=EasyFix

 

[Adieu]

@Noobz347

Here's some pics I took of a knock sensor that's harness was chewed by critters with that Rotek scope. (It wasn't accessible any other way without pulling the intake manifold)



For what I need it for, it's genuinely not bad at all, and is actually not any worse than SnapOn's $800 scope.

 

[Noobz347]

The video quality looks similar to my snake scope (I've forgotten the brand).

 

[Olivethefet]

Stubbled across this today. I might have to get one!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9jJqSGMB5g